The Journey - Chapter 1

A simple architect, a simple man name Al, had lived a nomadic life. Traveling from village to village, even occasionally spending a short while in city or two. He had many skills, but generally worked as a carpenter and home builder. It was quite satisfying for Al to fix and build things for people. He loved to see the smiles and looks of amazement on their faces when they gazed upon his handy work.

Not only was he a good architect, but he had an artistic eye and used that skill in his work, giving people beauty as well as functionality. Occasionally this lead him to one of his less desirable traits, perfectionism. From time to time he would get caught up in the details and forget the big picture. Spending a week painting a mural on the wall of one room, while neglecting to paint the rest of the house. Deadlines were often ignored and customers were not always interested in "art".

This bothered Al. It didn't bother him that occasionally his customers didn't care about his art or skill, but that he would loose himself in his own thoughts and tasks, neglecting the desires of those around him.

Often unable to sustain a reasonable living doing odd jobs Al would seek employment with a local architect and do lower quality, faster work. Al would still get to express his creativity from time to time, so he was generally happy, though working under someone like this was often a dead end. Al would move on after a time, but he would never regret his time with those various employers. Each job Al would pick up a new trick or two and take with him more skill and experience.

After many years of time in one large village, Al decided it was time to move on. For much of his life he stayed in one region. It was not a bad land, in fact it was rich in agriculture and trade, however the need for an architect that could design more than a simple house or barn was not much use. The area guild has refused him membership due to his unconventional techniques. His ideas were simply too wild for those simple farm folk. The guild felt that he would bring a bad name to the guild.

Al was disappointed but young and his ideals strong. He took a chance and headed east, beyond the great rivers and over a large snow capped mountain range. Growing up Al had heard many tales about the people that lived beyond in this land. It was said they were backwards and uncivilized. For most of his life he believed those tales, until one summer he met a man traveling with a trader. He was a short balding man with a large belly and a larger smile. Al was drawn to this strange happy man. They shared a table that afternoon at the local tavern. The man explained he was from the east on a journey. When Al asked the man, Dunrik, about his quest, he became very quiet and suspicious. Dunrik simply said he had to find something. Suddenly, as if the topic never came up, Dunrik's smile beamed from his face again and he began to reminice about his home land.

Later Al remembered that mans tales about the land to the east. It would be a long journey and he would be scorned for making the trip. Family did not understand why he would want to leave. Friends tried to reinforce all the negative stories he had heard growing up. Al heard none of it. He had made up his mind. It was time for a change.

More to follow soon...Almond